


The Past Can Hurt You

by one_neet_writer



Series: Neet One-Shots and Drabbles [6]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Angry Varian (Disney), Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Inspired by Varian and the Seven Kingdoms - Kaitlyn Ritter & Anna Lencioni, Light Angst, Older Varian (Disney), One Short turned into Two Shot lmao, Sassy Varian (Disney)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:47:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24415363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/one_neet_writer/pseuds/one_neet_writer
Summary: During their journey to complete the Seven Trials, Varian is forced to confront his past once again when him and his group is met with a familiar face. Let's just say Varian isn't happy.
Series: Neet One-Shots and Drabbles [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1759507
Comments: 6
Kudos: 120





	The Past Can Hurt You

If there was anything that this journey proved to Hugo, it was that Varian was anything but naive. Sure, Varian may not have all the street smarts that Hugo has, but he certainly has the wits that he has only seen in the best criminals. 

Like how Varian somehow managed to legally smuggle in some dangerous components in the kingdom. 

“That was illegal!” Nuru hissed out in a low voice. 

“Actually, it was legal,” Varian grinned as he straightened his back. “The law requires that we must account for any dangerous items that are on our person and will be confiscated. However, we did not carry it on our person. Prometheus and Ruddiger carried it,” Varian gestured to the two. Ruddiger had a mischievous grin plastered on his face. “Besides, we can’t risk the totems or our alchemy taken away when we need to locate the next trial still.”

Nuru frowned and shifted clearly uncomfortable. “It was illegal still…”

“It was necessary. Besides, it’s probably the most legal thing we have this journey,” Varian waved his hand, catching all of them off guard- even admittingly Hugo was caught off guard. 

“Wait, we are criminals?” Yong asked, confused and a bit scared. “We committed other crimes?!”

“No- everything was technically legal, so that wouldn’t make them illegal,” Varian replied with a smile before pausing and gave a thoughtful look. “Though blowing up that warehouse could be debated as a criminal act even if it was an accident…”

“I’m only 12 and I am a criminal!” Yong cried out in clear distress.

“You are too young to be a criminal,” Varian scoffed and waved it off with a hand before an awkward expression settled on his face. “Though if you were a bit older, you would be a criminal and arrested.”

Hugo couldn’t help but pause and raise an eyebrow. That was a rather oddly specific statement. 

Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who thought that as Nuru gave Varian a questioning look. 

“What makes you say that?” She asked.

Varian paused before awkwardly smiling and began fiddling with his hands. “I am best friends with the Captain of the Guards, so I know the law inside and out.” He strolled onward with pseudo confidence.

“For someone who knows the Captain of the Guards, you sure know how to avoid the law,” Nuru suspiciously pointed out. 

“What do you expect? Team Awesome consists of myself and the one and only Eugene Fitzherbert- formerly known as Flynn Rider,” Varian brushed it off. 

“Flynn Rider? As in the infamous thief?” Nuru gasped in shock. 

“Wait, Team Awesome?” Hugo couldn’t help but questioned as he held up a hand. “You called yourselves Team Awesome? Lemme guess, you were the one who came up with that name.”

“Shut up!” Varian huffed before turning to Nuru. “And he is a former thief. Keyword: Former. Eugene is one of the best people I know and has always protected Corona. He was given the position.”

“I don’t know how much I would trust a former thief,” Nuru reluctantly admitted. 

“You wouldn’t say that if you met Eugene!” Varian insisted. “He is amazing and super cool!”

“Eh,” Hugo trailed off as he scrunched up his nose recalling the last encounter with Rider. “I dunno. Rider wasn’t all that impressive considering he was so easy to fool.”

Varian raised an eyebrow. “Are you talking about Eugene Fitzherbert or was that Brock Thunderstrike?”

“Wait what?” 

Varian casually whistled and clearly was not going into that topic any further as he strolled onwards. “Come on. We are killing daylight.”

Hugo could definitely see how Flynn Rider, ex-thief, rubbed off on Varian… they both seemed to lie the same way. Why was Varian lying about how he knew the age of being arrested or not? Hugo couldn’t pin any reason why Varian would lie. He is the one who worked his butt off to save everyone and was too much of an optimistic, cheerful guy. He was the one to insist on giving Hugo a second chance despite having stolen the totem and the fact Varian clearly didn’t like him. In fact, it was a bit off-putting in Hugo’s opinion.

Though, it wasn’t like that all the time. There was a side of Varian that all of them have seen once or twice. 

According to Yong, Varian looked incredibly pissed after Hugo had stolen the first totem, but he calmed down. Then there was the time where they were nearly siren-song to their death while surrounded by their hopes and desires fulfilled. Varian especially looked quite pissed after that one. And then after hiding out in a cave during a snowstorm, Varian had the one time he looked quite pissed off and a bit upset. Though, it seemed to disappear whenever they began to talk to him. 

“Oh look! An inn,” Yong pointed out. They glance over to see a sign that reads “Cozy Kitten” by the inn. “Seems like a nice place.”

For some reason, Varian was nearly bent over in half in a poor attempt to hide his laughter. 

“Got something you wish to share with the class?” Hugo asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“No! No!” Varian insisted with a wave of his hand however a few snickers continued to escape his mouth. “Though, I think we will be good if we book a room here.”

With confidence and a raised eyebrow, the four of them strolled in to find it wasn’t as cozy as they thought it would be. After all, they didn’t expect to be greeted with various thugs or criminals. Instinctively, Hugo went more on edge and straightened his back. No weaknesses from him. However, Nuru and Yong were clearly on edge and scared. 

“Varian!” Nuru hissed in a low voice. “Let’s go.”

“Now, now, hold on,” Varian scolded before turning around. “Hey, guys!” He cheerfully greeted them with a smile. He looked far too comfortable in this place. 

“Scram!” One of the thugs growled and raised an ax.

“I agree! Let’s go,” Yong nodded clearly terrified. 

“Yeah, Goggles,” Hugo glanced at Varian. “We shouldn’t get involved with these kinds of people…” 

“Like you are much better,” Nuru shot at Hugo who only rolled his eyes in response.

That’s when Varian seemed to catch notice of a poster. 

“Whoa! Wait, is that Hookfoot?” Varian gasped as he scrambled across the inn and gestured to the poster. 

“Yeah? What’s it to you kid?” Another thug asked. “He is playing here at the inn tomorrow. He is lucky that he can follow his dreams.”

“Yeah! I knew his brother Hookfoot- though it was only a handful of times. It’s amazing Rapunzel can help anyone follow your dreams.” He then paused before a wide grin split across his face as he turned to them. “So, what are your guys’ dreams?”

And what happened next was something that none of them expected to happen. 

Somehow, this led to everyone in the inn to burst out into cheers and songs that made the three of them suddenly much more comfortable. The various thugs sang about their dreams (which was er… unique to say the least). Varian encouraged all of them to follow their dreams and had joined in the song. 

That somehow led to Varian managing to drag Yong, Nuru, and even Hugo into the singing where they each shared their own dream (though Hugo’s was much more awkward as he sang about riches- and promptly booed for). 

And then, they were given free room and board while they stayed here because they didn’t realize Varian was such a good friend of Queen Rapunzel. At least tonight’s meal was on the house despite Varian’s attempts to pay for it saying, “Anything for Queen Rapunzel’s friend!”

“We shouldn’t be here,” Nuru whispered to them. “They are all criminals!” 

“So?” Varian asked with a raised eyebrow. “They all deserve a second chance to live out their dreams! Trust me. They aren’t bad guys-“ an ax went flying across the room and nearly sliced Varian’s head off before embedding in the wall.. “I mean in the sense of being a bad person. They are definitely criminals though.”

“I don’t know,” Nuru trailed off unsure as she poked at the food. “I don’t really think this is a good place to stay in.”

“Aww, but they have good food,” Yong groaned out in disappointment. 

“And it is free,” Hugo added. The food was certainly much better than he expected considering this was an inn and ransacked with thugs and criminals. 

“It just has its own unique charm. You’ll come to love it,” Varian beamed brightly. “I knew this was the perfect place to stay when I saw the name. It reminds me of back at home. The Snuggly Duckling.”

“Such misleading names...” Nuru trailed off. 

“Don’t you come from Corona?” Hugo asked as he pointed a fork to the other. “You know, the place that had begun to accept criminals who turned over a new leaf?”

“Yep!” Varian nodded his head as a smile grew on his face. “Rapunzel is great! She always had faith in believing people could change for the better. She is all about giving people second chances.”

“Yeah, Rapunzel sure is a great princess,” a new voice suddenly chimed in. “Oh wait, she is queen now, isn’t she?” 

They turned to see a guy with a man bun stroll over to them with a smirk plastered across his face. Hugo glanced over at Varian expecting that same friendly and joyful grin only to be greeted with a fit of seething anger and rage. His hands trembled as his eyes were narrowed into a glare. 

“What are you doing here?” Varian nearly spat out in disgust as he glared at the newcomer.

The man-bun guy let out a feigned gasp of hurt as he wrapped an arm around Varian’s neck. “Oh, Varian. I’m hurt. I thought you Coronaians were all about being nice and friendly to everyone, even criminals.”

Varian shoved his arm away as he stood up and jabbed a finger into the guy’s chest. “Don’t touch me, _Hubert_.”

A twitch from the aforementioned guy as he brushed Varian’s hand away. “It’s Andrew.”

“No no,” Varian smugly grinned as he crossed his arms across his chest. “Rapunzel told me it’s Hubert. She has quite a good memory. Though if it makes you feel better, I can call you Andrew still.”

Andrew rolled his eyes before glancing at the three of them. 

“Oh, and these are your friends? Why don’t you introduce me to them?” He grinned. 

“You know, Varian?” Yong innocently asked. 

“No!” Varian denied despite the fact he just called the guy by name before turning to Andrew and clear familiarly between them. “And he was just leaving!” 

Varian went to push him only for Andrew to easily slip by him and casually walk up to them with the smug confidence of a smooth criminal. 

“The name’s Andrew. Varian and I go _waayyy_ back,” he drawled out with that smug smirk.

“No, we don’t!” Varian denied again before putting himself between them and Andrew… almost like he was protecting them from Andrew. “If you want something, leave them out of it.”

“I just wanted to say hi that’s all,” Andrew insisted, holding his hands up in defense. “I mean... unless you would like to work together again.”

“Again?” Hugo couldn’t help himself. He didn’t expect for Varian to work with someone he clearly didn’t like… actually, he will take that back.

“Yeah,” Andrew said before a wide grin split across his face. “Varian, here-“

“ _Shut up, Andrew_ ,” Varian’s voice dropped in a low, cold, and harsh tone. It sent a chill up their spines seeing a complete 180 from their friend. In fact, they could hardly recognize the person in front of them and could hardly believe it was the same Varian who was just singing with a bunch of thugs about dreams. 

And somehow that made Andrew even more giddier. 

“Ah! There is it,” Andrew gestured to Varian. “That’s the partner I know. You know, I heard you left Corona and I thought we can work together like old times. After all, I am pretty sure Corona isn’t too friendly to criminals who helped to overthrow their kingdom.” 

Varian grabbed a fork and jammed it into the table clearly showing that he was serious and was pissed off. He then grabbed one of his alchemy balls and raised it with his eyes narrowed into a harsh glare. To Hugo’s surprise, even Ruddiger had taken a position on the table and was now growling at Andrew- and he had never seen Ruddiger even remotely make a growling noise even once. 

“If you don’t get out of here, I won’t hesitate to kick your ass again. I have no intention of betraying Corona, again,” Varian warned in a low growl, shoving it closer to Andrew who instinctively took a step back. It was clear that despite the fact Andrew was older, he was afraid of Varian and his capabilities. 

Andrew held up his arms before letting out a sigh and shaking his head. “You are making a mistake. We worked great together. Bursting out of prison, taking over the kingdom, and wiping the memories of the king and queen. I am sure I can convince the other Saporians to let you join back with us.” He then paused before an idea seemed to strike him. “Hey, you can even make those doll things. You know, that metal soldier army you made and attacked the kingdom with. I mean this time maybe you will actually get rid of the royalty this time.”

“I am not making those automatons again and I am not making a mistake,” Varian insisted and took a step closer. “I am staying on the right side of history, and you won’t change my mind, Andrew. You made it pretty clear last time that you don’t want to work with me. You nearly threw me off your airboat and let me fall to my death.”

“That’s in the past. We can be friends again... After all, aren’t you people of Corona all about giving people second chances,” Andrew insisted though his smirk seemed a little strained and less confident than before. 

And for some reason, that seemed to calm Varian down as his body began to relax and a smile grew on his face. 

“You know what. It is in the past,” Varian agreed as he put the alchemy ball back on his belt to which Andrew relaxed. 

“It is?” Andrew repeated surprised before regaining his composure. “Of course it is. We are friends, aren’t we, buddy?”

“Sure we are.” Varian dugged through his pockets as he smiled at Andrew. “And as _‘friends’_ , I should give you a gift.” Varian then pulled out a vial and opened it in front of Andrew’s face with a twisted and dark grin. 

There was a small burst of light before revealing Andrew’s face covered in gaudy makeup and his hair color was now a bright shade of pink. Andrew turned to see a reflection of himself and let out a choked and strained noise. Varian casually leaned against Andrew as he gestured to his new look. 

“I made improvements to my formula since last time, and I was sure you of all people would enjoy it,” Varian gloated before glancing at Andrew with more vials in his hand. “I got plenty of new alchemical compounds that I made and improved since last time. We can go test them out together if you would like. You know-“ Varian waved his hand around. “-as a token to the new start of our new _friendship_. Think of it as a… _second_ chance at our partnership.”

There were snickers and laughs from other thugs who saw Andrew’s new look, and Andrew looked quite flustered and embarrassed before shoving Varian away. 

“On second thought, I better get going-“

“Oh come on,” Varian groaned out in a fake concern tone. “I thought we were _friends_.”

Andrew whipped around and glared at him.

“I don’t make friends with _traitors_.”

“You know,” Varian put a hand on his chin. “You aren’t very intimidating when you look like a clown… not that you needed much help in the first place to look like a clown considering you need help from a _kid_ to overthrow a kingdom.” He let a few clicks of his tongue before smugly glancing up at Andrew. “I mean, your previous attempt was so bad that even Eugene and Rapunzel didn’t even remember you at first. They didn’t even consider you a threat and were easy pickings till I showed up. _How sad._ ”

Andrew seemed unable to handle the embarrassment before storming out of the inn as Varian leaned back and crossed his arms across his chest with that smirk plastered across his face, satisfied at his victory. 

“Oh, I forgot to tell him that he won't wash out for at least a week… oh, wells. He will find out soon enough,” Varian shrugged before turning back to them and froze. 

“Varian…” Nuru trailed off with disappointment and disgust on her face as if she was shocked and disgusted for being associated with someone like him. 

Yong looked rather scared as he grabbed onto Hugo’s arm to a point where he was trembling. That look of admiration was gone and only filled with fear. 

And Hugo looked a bit unnerved, but mostly surprised. Overall, he was the one who seemed the most accepting of this new side. Then again, he was the one who openly admitted to his crimes of thievery since he did steal from them.

“I uh…” Varian trailed off as he rubbed the back of his neck as that smug and confident self evaporated into thin air. He shrank under their gazes and frankly, none of them would have ever guessed that side of Varian existed till now. He was just so good at hiding it considering he had only slipped up a few times and the fact they’ve been together for a long time. “I can explain…” 

“Let’s talk somewhere else,” Hugo said as he stood up. “Upstairs in the room.” 

No one seemed to have complaints about it as they all trudged to the room in awkward silence. Yong attempted to break the silence and opened his mouth to say something. However, he decided against it and stayed silent instead. 

They all piled into the room as Varian sat on the bed looking like a kicked puppy as Ruddiger climbed on the bed and plopped himself in Varian’s lap giving him comforting nudges. Nuru was on the far side of the room with Yong while Hugo lingered near the door. 

“Explain,” Nuru immediately cut straight to the chase. 

“Wow… really cutting straight to the point,” Varian awkwardly muttered as he uncomfortably fidgeted on the bed.

“Was it true?” Yong asked as he glanced at Varian. “That you are a criminal?”

“Not anymore,” Varian let out a sigh as he petted Ruddiger, unable to look them in the eyes. “Rapunzel had pardoned me.”

“Not anymore?” Nuru scoffed and rolled her eyes. “You sure don’t act like you aren’t a criminal anymore.”

“Enough, Nuru,” Hugo stepped in, holding up his hand. 

“Oh, the other criminal butts in,” Nuru glared at him. “Criminals don’t change. They will keep doing bad things.”

“But doesn’t everyone deserve a second chance?” Yong chimed in as he glanced at Varian. “Besides, he saved us all multiple times and tried to do his best to help all of us.” He glanced at Nuru. “I know I did some bad things and exploded my home multiple times. But it was an accident. You don’t think I’m a bad person right?”

Nuru seemed to deflate in her anger before shaking her head and an awkward expression settled on her face. 

“No… you’re just a kid. You didn’t mean to,” Nuru admitted. 

“Then shouldn’t the same apply to Varian?” Hugo retorted with a scoff. “I can’t believe I’m saying this but-“ He walked over to Varian and lightly knocked him on the head. “You really think this _dimwit-”_ (“Hey!”) “-could actually do anything bad now? He clearly regrets his actions. In fact, he has those papers that say he is Corona’s Royal Engineer. They clearly trust Varian now, so why can’t you?” Hugo strolled away and used his height to his advantage to loam over Nuru. “If anything, Corona has a problem with Varian, _not you_. You don’t have any excuse to judge him after he saved our lives.”

“You guys…” Varian whispered out in disbelief. “You… You defended me even though you now know my crimes? But… I thought you would…” Varian’s head lowered as Ruddiger patted his cheek. “Leave.” 

“Oh don’t get me wrong,” Hugo turned to Varian and jabbed his finger in Varian’s chest. “You? I’m kinda pissed you never told us. I do want to know what just happened and what led you to almost commit regicide.” He let out a huff and stared down at Varian. “Don’t think you are getting off the hook for that especially after mocking me for being a thief and judging me for it.”

“Though can you do it without the scary face?” Yong chimed in with a sheepish grin. 

Varian blinked before letting out a small chuckle and a small smile settled on his face. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Well? Nuru?” Hugo turned to her with a raised eyebrow and crossed his arms across his chest. “Are you willing to listen to Goggles’ backstory? If you are going to judge him anyways, you should at least hear him out.”

Nuru looked conflicted as she glanced off to the side and hesitant to answer.

“I’m not going to ask you to forgive me or look at me the same way after hearing about my crimes,” Varian spoke up as he glanced away. “I know what I did was wrong. I knew it from the start, but I chose to do it anyways. I know I have no one to blame but myself for this.” Varian then lifted his head as he was filled with determination. “And if you don’t trust me to be here and to continue this journey with me, I will make sure you get back home safely. My papers that prove I’m Corona’s Engineer can help provide all the necessary transportation and stops back to your kingdom.” 

Nuru let out a sigh before she straightened her back as she stared at Varian. 

“As a princess, I don’t believe I should trust some criminals no matter what their past is.” Nuru’s words made Varian deflate a bit as he clearly lost some of that confidence again. However, she wasn’t quite done speaking. “But as a friend, I want to trust you.” Varian’s eyes widened as Nuru smiled at him and gave him a nod. “I may not want to trust you at the moment and frankly, your crimes are inexcusable no matter what the reason is… but I want to listen to everything and why you did the things you did before making my judgment on whether or not to trust you. You don’t seem like the type who would randomly decide to commit treason.”

At those words, Varian’s eyes seemed to brighten and a wide smile grew on his face. 

“Of course!” He nodded his head as he petted Ruddiger. “Okay… but get settled because this is going to be a long story.” Varian coughed into his hand before a sad and small smile settled onto his face. “This is the story of a kid who made so many mistakes that nearly destroyed his home and life.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to the 7 Kingdoms discord for the prompt inspiration!  
> "Andrew outs Varian’s past to the rest of the group and the angst that follows"  
> It was so much fun to write this. 
> 
> Anyways, thank you for reading this. I love Varian getting his mojo and sass back to tell Andrew off. My favorite scene that I wrote in this fanfic, hands down. Our sassy boy will always live to be a sassy child.


End file.
